UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

I’m still…um…somewhat shaken by the earthquake from earlier this morning.

(BTW, this earthquake is a precursor of quakes to come?  Really?  And raindrops are a precursor to more raindrops, right?)

Quick-hitters:

- The Los Angeles Angels nowhere near Los Angeles got 1B Mark Teixeira from Atlanta, eh?  And all it cost them was Casey Kotchman (who will be a fine pro, but isn’t going to be THE guy to push the Angels to the World Series) and a middling prospect?

As much as it sickens me to admit this, the Angels seem to be the clear favorites now to win the World Series.  They have everything it takes to win:  outstanding starting pitching, lockdown relievers, dangerous middle-of-the-order hitters, and an experienced coach.

Oh well…at least the Dodgers got Casey Blake!

- It looks like the Lakers will not be getting Ron Artest, as the Sacramento Kings have agreed to trade Artest to the Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, the rights to Donte Greene, and a 2009 #1 pick.

That’s a pretty heavy price to pay for Artest, if I’m the Rockets.  Also, does Artest and Shane Battier both play SF?  And what if T-Mac and Yao miss a ton of games, and the Rockets miss the playoffs next year?

(I’ll have to check to see if the pick is lottery-protected.)

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,400, and falling rapidly.  I should be getting somewhere along the lines of $500 in rebates real soon.

- The 5.8 magnitude earthquake, centered near Chino Hills, CA, was one of the more brief and sudden quakes that I’ve ever experienced in my life.  Five brief seconds of shaking—similar to what you would feel if a big truck drove by your house—was followed by a good 20-30 seconds of my building swaying back and forth.

It was certainly a strange experience—I had never been in a multi-story building during a serious quake—and one I’d like to not have to experience again for a while.  And consider this:  I am a good 45-60 minutes away from Chino Hills.  If we ever get a repeat of the Northridge quake around here…

- I got a package from DHL a few days ago, and noticed this peculiar sticker on the box:

(I’d scan it for you all, but I’m too damn lazy.)

DHL Signature Service Options

Signature Preferred:  Attempted Delivery Notice release or Signature On File agreement is acceptable when an in-person signature cannot be obtained.

Signature Required:  In-person signature only…blah blah blah

Adult Signature Required:  In-person signature only…21 years of age…blah blah blah.

Krunk noticed it immediately, and I must also ask:  isn’t the “Signature Preferred” option nothing more than the default shipping option?

Gosh, I love it when companies pretend to give customers something, when in reality, they’re not!

- Very quickly:  dinner tonight was Chinese delivery food from California Wok.  We ordered a full plate of Kung Pow Chicken, and I was surprised how very full the little tray was!  It was so full that the lid nearly popped off when we opened it!

I also ordered the Beef Chow Mein, which was not-terribly-greasy good as usual, though the beef pieces looked like they were peeled off larger pieces of beef.  Good stuff, nonetheless, and not terribly pricey for a highly-rated restaurant.

zzzzz…

Tags: anaheim angels, atlanta braves, casey blake, chino hills, earthquake, los angeles dodgers, mark teixeira by Peter
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Nope. No quick-hitters tonight.

- It probably has something to do with the Fourth of July weekend coming up, or it might just have been a slightly atypical Sunday afternoon crowd, or it might have been because we went to a different Costco than the one we usually go to—Northridge—but boy was Costco packed today!

So what does a packed Costco mean? Stupid kids running around, coming nano-millimeters from hitting your cart with their faces, idiot adults constantly blocking aisles with themselves or their shopping carts (remember this?), and the huddled masses blitzing from free sample to free sample.

What was really strange, though, was the fact that our wait that the checkout line was pretty damn short. Either Costco had every register working (I wasn’t paying attention), or everyone was just taking their sweet time shopping while we quickly grabbed what we wanted.

As for the assault to my wallet, I bought some cheese danishes, trail mix, and yogurt. I’ll set the over/under on how long it’ll take me and my sister to finish all three at two weeks.

(Don’t be a fool and take the over :P)

- So I sampled the new Carl’s Jr. Prime Rib Six Dollar Burger on Saturday.

(Those commercials made the sandwich look really tasty!)

I can sum up the review of the burger in two words: IT SUCKED. You know a burger sucks when the best part of it is the (Ciabatta) bun.

(OK, that’s not fair. The meat patty was typical Six Dollar Burger good.)

The three or so pieces of Prime rib that found its way on top of my burger made dirt-cheap Vegas buffet Prime rib taste awesome by comparison. Honestly, I couldn’t tell what was Prime rib, and what was grilled onion. And don’t get me started on the horseradish sauce; it was so sweet, I thought they topped my burger with yogurt! Not to mention, the sauce had as much of a kick as shrimp cocktail sauce.

The worst thing was, the combo costs $8 here in the valley! Can I do a chargeback, on the basis that the item was significantly not as described?

- So let me get this straight. The Los Angeles Dodgers Actually in Los Angeles got five three hits on Sunday and lost, but they got zero hits on Saturday, and won? How crazy is that?

After the seventh inning, I was rooting for the Dodgers to go hitless the rest of the way, just to see history happen. Needless to say, I was elated when Dodgers’ closer Takashi Saito finally got the last out.

(I will neither confirm nor deny that the fact that the Los Angeles Angels Outside of Los Angeles were on the wrong end of history didn’t make the moment a bit sweeter).

By the way, just as I will never call the Anaheim Angels that ridiculous moniker that they choose to go by, I will not call the Angels’ performance anything other than what it should be: a no-hitter. I don’t care what the rule book says; the Angels held the Dodgers hitless for an entire game, and that should be counted as a no-hitter. I couldn’t agree more with what MSNBC’s Mike Celizic wrote:

A pitcher throws a six-inning shutout and gets the win when rain ends the game, he gets a shut-out. If a batter is working on a hitting streak and loses it in a five-inning, rain-shortened game, baseball doesn’t say that doesn’t count because he should have had two more at-bats. So, why this silly rule about no-hitters? Why is a six-inning, rain-shortened game a complete game for everyone else but not for the guy who throws a no-hitter?

And for the record, Scioscia made the right call in pulling Weaver in the top of the seventh. He had to find a way to manufacture a run! Also, I completely disagree with the official scorer on the booted ball by Weaver that led to the Dodgers’ only run. That has to be ruled a base hit; it was much too bang-bang for it to be called an error.

Until next time!

Tags: anaheim angels, carl's jr, cheese danish, costco, evil, los angeles dodgers, no hitter, prime rib, six dollar burger, trail mix by Peter
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